Method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks



E. L. MALHIOT METHOD oF ASSEMBLING SLIP MULTIPLE TERMNAL BANKS Filed'oot. 22, 194s .3 Sheets-Sheet l INI/EN TOR. v 2 L11/,W H/or A TTRIVEY E. L. MALHIOT Feb. 7, 1950 METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SLIP MULTIPLE TERMINAL BANKS 3 Sheeus-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1946 IVENTOR. ET f ivf/ E. l... MALHIOT Feb. 7, 1950 METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SLIP MULTIPLE TERMINAL BANKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 F'ile'd Oct. 22, 1946 1v1/EN TOR.

Patented Feb. 7, 1950 lzaaien METli-ill 0F ASSEMBLING SLIP MULTIPLE TERMINAL BANKS eugene L. Manset, Maywood; 111;; mi Western Eiectric Company; Incorporated; Newl York; N. a, corporation of New York Applicaties october e2, i946, serial Newman 1 This.inventi.on relates toaI methodA of assembling-A articles; andinoifevparticularly to a method of: assembling:slip..multip1e; terminal banks.

In.r the manufac-ture` ofz telephone exchange equipment,. step,l by step-.multiple terminal banks .toforebeenl manufactured. by assemiosu atoncardefcarrying; contacter` mem.- he. telminals; of; the contacter 1nemhers4 estendnggladallyf, from theI arcuate insulaton c aigdiyandgstaclin rh.,tnplurality of thesefcai'ds oneyuppnanothen to carryffthe banks of termi,- nalS in,k positonwhere, the contacter-s may be engagedibsg;r a, brusht stepped-f' vertically4 inA alignmentlwith `e leyehottexminals and. then stepped in.. an. arcuate. pathpto select. a terminal at that level. '.Ifhese-` assnenriblies.A have heretofore been wled, aftery all, of the terminals have been mounted on their respective. frameworks and clampedin place. New. methods have beendevisedfor expediting the assembly and Wiring of these-banks wherein arouately shaped' cards or insulators havingcontactsxed'jto them are at= tached'togetherin" strings by continuous lengths of Wires; which are automatically fixed' to the terminals;- and-'therea-ftenthe cards or insulators are assembled toff'ormfthe 'ban-lis'. @onsiderab-le difficulty;y however; was experiencedfin arranging terminedlnumber-v of,-.cards. inl each string andv a` plurality. .of strings of.. cards equal innumber to themimberofl cardsjn each stringv arey placed sidev by 3 side onl a fixture and in, stepped relation to each other, with" each successive stringl after the ,irst advancedp one cardwith 4respect tothe: preceding-ystringtoy form` a complete transversel row--of cards-onthefixture toserve asthebot'- torn- 1ev,e1`*of""theslipv multiple terminal banks,

andthen:beginningvwith` the shortest string andr successively-v the nextr shortest' throughout the ser-ies on-one side of the completerow ofy cards,4

the card'eowfcardsf'o' eachy string,v are placed onthefecardror cards:ofrtheepreceding string so thate 95. Ciairns.. (Cl. ,295-455.355)` the0 endl cards' of the stringsarefsta'cked' in. a pile and' then, n. beginning; with' the longest stringgan'd in, sequencey theV` next* longest` string throughout the seri'es'onv the otfiersid of" the' complete row of.l cards; thev card oricards" otfeach'f string' are placed on. the; cards` ora card; of' the' preceding stringi` soA thatl the" endv` cards of" the String are stacked ina'ple; Y Y

Al more.'v complete understandfngo the' invention: may behad-byxzeirence to thefllowing'detailedfV description when considered connect'- tion with the ac'companying'diawings; nwhicn Fig. i isplan' View" of a# group" oiarcuate'l'ife shaped vcard' unitsfliaving v contactsnxed toA them andV connectedifltogetiieibyfcontinuous"lengths of Wire 'to forni astiingof cards :i l

Fig'. 2`r is a'- nartiaplan' View of" a groupvr of banks of Wiredtogether cardE units'prior vto the mountingof he assemblfonr ashe'llnot'shown which will* align` thef'terminals'ofithe" banksior engagementhy suitable"l'fiushesV Figa iL sja/ schematic-*diagram vof jtherst 'step' of theK4 method 'of' assembling" previously wired strix'igs-of card runitsr toffornra lslipf multiple;`

Figs. Handi laref'diaetannrratioillustratlitmsof' theA 'condition off' the stt-ings# oficardf units* at two pointsin` the assembliiigfof thecard 'units-*to'forr'ri` a slipemultpleandi" Fig; 8f isfa'diagrammatclfillustratlon"ofa'com pleted slipmultipleterminal-banks units it in such manner that the terminal ends thereof to which wires I I are attached are spaced arcuately relative to each other, whereas the brush engaging portions are arranged in pairs in superposed relation. Thus each card unit designated I in Fig. 1 comprises, as shown in Figs. 2 and. 3, a tipcard I4 having contactors or terminals I2v xed tolits upper side, a ring card I5 having contactors or terminals I2 fixed to its lower side and the insulator I3 interposed between the terminals or contactors I2 on the cards il and I5.

An apparatus suitable for attaching contactors or terminals to cards is shown in the patent to L. A. Bartelheim et al. N o. 2,39l3'h`patented February l2, 1946.

From the foregoing, it will b e apparent that each card unit IE! of an interconnected length or string of card units has two sets of ten terminals I2 on it and that, therefore, the length or string xof card units has ,ten pairs of wires extending along it which serve to interconnect corresponding terminals or contactors .l1 on all of the cards. This arrangement.providesfor ten lines since the tip contacter I2and the'ring contactor I2 are necessary for each line, but .are mounted on the tip cards I and ring cards I5. In the assembled switching apparatus, card units I0 from various strings are spacedapart by metal spacers IS and are clamped 'into a stack or bank between two arcuate plates Hand I8 by means of bolts i9 extending through suitable apertures in the v,card units and spacers and through the plate ii' and threaded into the plate I8. After the card units Ihavebee'n 'properly arranged to provide the type of vmultiple desired, the banks illustrated in Figs. 2" and: 3 may be tightly clamped together by means of the boltsIS, and the banks may. be'mounted in a row or bank multiple by means. of posts extending from a shelf (not shown) and passing through apertures 2i) formed in the ends of .the plates I1 and I8.

, With strings of interconnected card units I0 of the type described hereinbefora an ordinary multiple may be made up by simply aligning the card units iIl -and spacers I5 on assembling fixtures, maintaining a horizontal alignment between the cardunits of the string and superposing the desired'number'of strings of card units, which is usually ten, whereby one hundred lines are provided in a bank comprising ten card units, each card unit havingten tip connections and ten ring connections. In a slip multiple, it is necessary that the card unit at the bottom level of a bank at one end of the row of banks be connected to thecard unit of the second level of the second bank; the .third level in the third bank, etc. Ordinarily, there will beten of these banks mounted on a shelf. However, for the purpose of illustrating the invention more clearly, only ve units have been shown in'those figures illustrating the various steps of the method of the present invention.

In following the method -of the present invention, any suitable type of fixture may be provided on which clamping.v plates I8 may be mounted by means of-'posts extending from the fixture. One of thextureshas been illustrated diagrammatically at 2I.. and the posts at 22 in Fig. 4. The Yapertures designated 23 in the clamping plates I'I and I8 (Fig. 2) are aligned with similar apertures in the spacers I6, insulator I3 and cards I4 and I5, to facilitate the positioning of the card units I0 to form the desired slip multiple. f, u

Beginning with Fig. 4 and continuing through Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the method is illustrated diagrammatically as pointed out hereinbefore and only one of the wires II of the group of wires is shown. This wire is shown as though it were connected to the mid point of the card unit Ill. In practicing the invention, the interconnected string of card units may be cut to the desired length, for example, to a length such that there are ve card units I0 interconnected by wires II in each string. The card units IQ in Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive, have been assigned reference numerals 3| to 35, 4I to 45, 5I to 55, 6I to 65, and 'il to i5, and the strings of interconnected units have been designated 3d, 40, 5&3, Eil and T6, respectively, so that the method of assembling them will be more readily understood.

After this cutting operation has been performed and the desired length of a string or" interconnected units has been formed, the units may be placed successively on the assembling xture 2|, as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the first or right hand string 3G of interconnected card units I0 is placed in position with the end or rst one of the card units I0 (designated 3i) on the assembling fixture at the right hand end of the fixture 2l; second string 4D is placed on the fixture with the second card unit (designated 42) on the xture; the third string 5G is placed with the third card unit Ii) (designated 53) on the xture; the fourth string 60 has the fourth card unit (designated 64) on the fixture, and the fifth string 'IG has the fth card unit (designated i5) placed on the fixture. Since there are only five card units in each of the strings, as selected for illustration, this means that the last card unit i5 of the last string I0 is placed on the fixture 2|, as shown in Fig. 4. Thus the cards on the fixture 2l form a complete transverse row of card units which are placed on the fixture in the proper order desired for the bottom level of the slip multiple banks and in the embodiment shown are arranged in ascending consecutive numerical order beginning with the card in the first string,

and each card in the row bears the same numerical relation to the others in its string as it does to the others in the transverse row.

To prevent the wires Il of the strings of cards from interfering with the laying of the second level of cards, the wires II of the strings of cards on one side of the fixture 2I are displaced laterally to the sides of the cards on the iixture to which they are connected, as indicated diagrammatically in Figs. 4 to '7. The strings of cards may be allowed to hang down on opposite sides of the fixture ZI, if desired, or they may be supported in any convenient manner.

After the rst step of the assembling method, the arranging of the strings of card units as shown in Fig. 4, the steps illustrated in Fig. 5 may be followed, wherein the first card unit 4I of string d0 is placed on top of the first unit 3l of string 3i); the second card unit 52 of string 56 is placed on top of the second card unit 42 of string 40, and the rst card unit 5I of string 50 is placed on top of the iirst card unit I of string 40. This operation is continued until, as shown in Fig. 6, al1 of the card units which had been shown on the near side of the fixture 2I have been assembled on the fixture, and thus there will be assembled at the right hand position of the fixture the lst card units 3 I, 4I, 5I,

6I and 'II of all five strings 30, 40, 5060 and.

lll'. ,distressed the le esc-coding ,se ue ce Fig. yr. Thereafter'. .e units is, n and .is are placed 0.1i top of .card units 33, ,3.4 and 35; card .units 59 and 51, are sneed ,on .toc of card units 45. ,and 9,5, and. .oai-.d unit. 6 5, is placed .on top. .of Q .Si unit .15 to. provide the. arrangement ,of card .units as Fie. .8, which .constitutes a slip multiple formed from previously interconnected card units aligned in such order that .the coni, 1. terminals l2 will be connected in mul- .ticle at a diiferent level in every bank.

.It Will'be understood that. .while a slip multiple banks .each having nye levels has heen .S .n for illustration in .the drawings, in the .ordinary slip multiple there are ten banks .of ten 4levels each, but the method of assembling these Willis 'would follow the. `sequence .described here- ,inbeiore lwhat is. .claimed is: o

l. n method of assembling slip multiple ter in inal blanks which comprises cutting strings of interconnected card. units having terminals thereon interconnected by wires into predetermined .lengths having a kpredetermined number of cards in each length, Placing. a plurality. of said lengths of interconnected `cards equal to the number of cards in each length in position parallel one to @Illher with the cards progressively aligned in an echelon arrangement whereby the iirst card .Qf the rst length is in a transverse row. with the lastcard of the last length, placing the rst card Q. the Second length on top of the first card .of the vfirst length, placing the second .card of the third length on top of the second .card of the second length, placing the first card of the third length on top of the rst card of the second length, continuing the. placing of the cards one on top of the other in the order just mentioned for all succeeding lengths until all except the last of the cards of the last length have been placed upon .Cards of the other lengths, placing the l second card oi the first length on top of the second card of the last length, Aplacing the third card of the first length on the third card of the last length, and continuing the justfmentioned sequence with all .of the remaining cards of all of the lengths in sequence with the cards of each length being placed upon corresponding cards oi the rlengths then .on top. of the bank.

2. A method .of assembling a slip multiple from interconnected lengths of card units. which comprises arranging a plurality of lengths of interconnected card units having a predetermined number of cards in each length in an echelon formation with the lengths parallel one to. another and the cards progressively yaligned so that the first card of the first length lies parallel to the last card of the lastv length in a line at right angles to the direction of extent of the lengths, said lengths being equal in number. to the number of cards in each length, in sequence placing the first card of the second length on top of the first card of the first length, placing the second card of the third length on top of the second card of the second length, placing the first card of the third length on top of the rst card of the second length, continuing this sequence of operations in order with succeeding lengths until all of the cards of the last length with the exception of the last card thereof have been placed above correspondingly numbered cards of all of the other lengths, .then .sequence placing the .second card ofthe length on top .of the second ,card of the lest nath, placing the .third card of ,the first .lengt on top of the third card of the ,last length, 99 tinuine this sequence until .all .of the .cards .el niet length with the .exception 0f the rSt gard th eef .have been placed above correspond: illely .numbered cards of `all. .of the other lengths, repeating this sequence `Vof operations for all of the remaining cards of all succeeding lengths in gr er nntil all of the cards have been piled on tac ef. one another .in rowsl3- .d method .of assembling slip multiple ter.-` al banks utilizing lengths ,comprising a pre.- mingd number of interconnected card units u ling terrninalcontactors arranged in each llmit and the ycontactors of ,one unit serially connected rresponding contactors in all of the other nit' a ,length which comprises, arranging a pl rality .of such lengths of interconnected cards n to the number of cards in each length pgmallel one to vanother but in stepped relation whereby a card unit displaced from an end of one length is directly opposite a card unit of the next sncceeding length displaced from the corre-V SQQEIQHS @11d Ol .its `length one .card distance greater than the previously mentioned card unit, whereby the rst card unit of the first length will be parallel to the last card unit of the last length and the ycarols Will be in staggered rela? tion .with the lengths extending parallel, and then seq ntially placing the first ,card unit of the second length on'tOp of the rst card unit oi the Yfirst length, placing the second card unit of the third length on top of the second card unit of the second length and continuing this sequence for all remaining lengths in `order until all of the first card units of all of the lengths are stacked one on top of the other, then placing the second, rd, fourth, etc. card ,units of the iirst and 1 uentially the succeeding lengths on top of the second, third, fourth, oto. card units of preceding lengths of cards then constituting the tops or' the `las until all of the card units have been stacked u piles corresponding to the number oi lengths of interconnected card units.

4. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal hanks which `comprises forming strings of terminal cards having a predetermined number of cards with the corresponding terminals on the cards connected in multiple, arranging a plurality of strings of cards equal to the number of cards in each vst ringside by side and in stepped relation with each succeeding string after the first advanced one card with respect to the preceding string to form a complete transverse row of cards for the bottom level of the slip multiple terminal banls, then beginning with the shortest string and successively the next shortest throughout the series on one. side of said complete row of cards, placing the card or cards of each string on the correspondingly numbered card or cards of the preceding string which forms a part of or is posiH tioned on top of the transverse row of cards so that some .of the correspondingly. numbered cards of the strings are stacked in banks, and then beginning with the longest string and in sequence the next longest string throughout the series on the other side of the complete row of cards, placing the cards or card of each string on the correspondingly numbered cards or card of the preceding strings then forming the top of the banks so that the remainder of the correspondingly numbered cards of the strings are stacked in banks.

'5. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks which comprises wiring a predetermined number of terminal cards in multiple to form strings, arranging a plurality of strings of cards equal to the number of cards in each string side by side in stepped relation to each other t0 form a complete transverse row of cards with the cards in the transverse row numbered consecutively and with each card having the same numbered relation in its string as it has in the row, then beginning with the shortest string and in sequence the next shortest throughout the plurality of strings onA one side of said complete transverse row of cards, placing the card orcards `of each string above the correspondingly numbered card or cards of said complete transverse row of cards and then beginning with the longest string and successively the next longest through- `out the plurality of strings on the other side of :said complete transverse row of cards, placing .the card or cards of each string above the correspondingly numbered card or cards of the complete transverse roW of cards.

6. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks which comprises forming strings of interconnected terminal cards having a predeterminad number of cards in each string, arranging a plurality of strings of cards equal to the number of cards in each string side by side with each succeeding string after the first advanced from the preceding string to form a complete vtransverse row of cards for the bottom level of the slip multiple terminal banks, then beginning with the shortestl string and successively the next shortest throughout the series on one side of said complete row of cards, placing the card or cards of each string above correspondingly numbered successive cards of the said complete transverse row of cards at a progressively changing level from that of the preceding card of the same string, and then beginning with the longest string yand successively the next longest throughout the series on the other side of said complete transverse row of cards, placing the card or cards of each string above correspondingly numbered successive cards of the said complete transverse row of cards at a progressively changing level from that of the preceding card of the same string.

'7. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks which comprises providing a plurality of strings of terminal cards having the similarly positioned terminals of the cards connected in multiple and each string having the same number of cards, arranging a plurality of strings of cards equal in number to the number of cards of each string in a row in stepped relation to each other withA the first card of the first string, the second card of the second string, the

third card of the third string and the next higher 60 numbered card than that of the preceding string for each successive string larranged in a complete transverse row to serve as the bottom level of cards for the slip multiple terminal banks, then starting with the second string and in sequence Y 8y the successive strings on one' side f the complete row of cards, placing the card or cards of each of the strings on the correspondingly numbered card or cards in the previous string with the first cards of the strings in a stack or bank, and then starting with the first string and in sequence the successive strings on the other side of the complete row of cards, placing the card or cards of each 'of the strings on the correspondingly numbered card or cards of the previous string then lying on top of the banks with the last cards of the strings in a stack or bank.

8. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks which comprises forming strings of interconnected terminal cards having a predetermined number of cards in each string, arranging a plurality of strings of cards equal to the number of cards in each string side by side in a series in stepped relation to each other and with the first card of the first string, the second card of the second string, the third card of the third string and the correspondingly numbered card of each additional consecutively numbered string throughout the series forming a complete transverse row of cards for the bottom level of the slip multiple terminal banks, then beginning with the shortest string and in sequence the next shortest throughout the series on one side of said bottom level row of cards, placing the card or cards of each string above the correspondingly numbered card or cards of said bottom level row of cards, and then beginning with the longest string and successively the next longest throughout the series on the other side of said bottom level row of cards, placing the cards or card of each string above the correspondingly numbered cards or card of said bottom level row of cards.

9. A method of assembling slip multiple terminal banks which comprises forming strings of interconnected cards with the number of strings and the number of cards in each string equal to the number'of banks to be assembled, assembling the cards in a row of banks with correspondingly numbered cards of each string in correspondingly numbered banks and with the cards in each string at different levels from the other cards in the same string and with the cards in the bottom level of the row of banks arranged in consecutive order by arranging the rst card of the first string in the first bank, the rst two cards of the second string in their correspondingly numbered banks, the first three cards of the third string in their correspondingly numbered banks, the first four cards of the fourth string in their correspondingly numbered banks and so on with the remaining strings, and then beginning with the first string, arrangingthe remaining cards therein onthe correspondingly numbered banks and arranging the remaining cards in each successive string in sequence on the correspondingly numbered banks.

EUGENE L. MALHIOT.

No references cited. 

